Marina

Chapter 8: Crystal Cavern of Stars

I look out my square opening in the small room I had occupied, the underwater sponge bed folded neatly to my side. I look at the crown in my hands, my fingers fiddling with the small band as my eyes follow each gleam and fade with the light as it moves. I admired the craftsmanship of the crown as I inspect every shell and jewel around it.

These mere people sure do have some nice style, got to give them credit for that.

I sigh and look out the opening again, my mind drifting back to my father. I really hope he isn't worrying too much about me but I'm afraid the whole idea of losing me and my mom will drive him insane. Maybe it's all in my head but I really hope someone's keeping an eye on him, maybe even Daniel. Speaking of Daniel, I really hope he's doing okay too. He's my best friend and he deserves so much in life, he's always been the reliable and loyal type. Ever since we were kids and he was the only one that accepted me for who I was and not because of my whole "Fish Girl" title from when I was a kid. To this day I still hate the name. I hate the taunting, the bullying, the pushing, the anger. It doesn't take much for a person to be judged by society these days, they just have to be different from others and they're immediately shunned for life. Some people just can't accept the fact that not one person is the same, that not everyone is crafted to one's idea of perfection. We wouldn't be human if we were all crafted to one person's idea of structured perfection.

I'm pulled out of my small inner rant when Elian swims in, all nice and casual - or at least as casual as Elian can get with his other-worldly features. He turns to me, his fluff of hair majestically moving in the water as his head turns, a smile adorning his glowing tanned face, "I apologize for my tardiness, Marina." He gives a small bow and looks back at me with an apologetic look.

I unconsciously let out a pig-like snort. I folded my hands over my chest with a smile as he looks at me in confusion, "You do realize you're the royal one here, right? You don't need to apologize for keeping me waiting. I bet some girls would wait all their lives to spend a minute with you." He looks down and rubs the back of his neck (a coping mechanism of his, I learned) as his golden birthings glow like the sun, "I wouldn't say they'd go as far as that. Besides, I want to be a noble king, a king of the people. I don't want to rule for myself, I want to rule for the people that make me a king. I want my people to be proud of me."

And at that moment, ladies and gentleman, I swooned.

I coughed and placed the crown down and swam towards Elian, gesturing to the door with my head, "Shouldn't we be heading to that place you wanted to take me to?" He glows again and nods before gesturing to the door with his arm, allowing me to go through first.

I grabbed my cape and put it over myself before going out of the small apartment, letting Elian then lead the way to this unknown area. We ended up passing many buildings and made our way to the very end of the city. Eventually, we hit a deserted area but Elian kept going. I followed without question for a couple of minutes, a calming silence falling between us.

"Marina, I would like to welcome you to my own spot."

I gape at the sight in front of me: blue crystals glowing all around like large blue fireflies, an underwater river flowing right in the middle, small pebbles and crystals are everywhere on the ocean's floor and on the river to create beautiful colors everywhere. I couldn't stop staring at the view in front of me, this dream-like area that seems to be created by the finest artist. This only something a genius could create, only a god. I swim closer to the cavern and turn towards Elian, who was staring at me with a small smile and odd glint in his eyes, "What?" A nervous chuckle escaped my lips as he continued to stare at me.

He just shrugs and swims closer inside the large cave, closer to me, "Nothing."

He goes next to me and gestures to the top with his head, "Follow me." I nod and follow him up towards the top of what seems like a large underwater waterfall, a small and gentle one at that. The farther up we go, the warmer the water seems to get. Once we had finally reached the top, I notice Elian take a seat on the edge of the waterfall. He pats the spot next to him and I smile at him before taking a seat next to him on the edge, both our feet dangling and swaying back and forth.

"This," he waves around the whole cavern of glowing lights, "is the Crystal Cavern, also known as the Cavern of the Stars." I look back to the bottom of the cave and notice that the crystals and colored pebbles do a good job at imitating the stars after all, now that my brain made the connection to the name. He clears his throat, "I brought you here to teach you about more of the traditions we have here."

I turn towards him, crossing my legs and leaning back on my arms, "What traditions?"

His golden birthings glow, "Our, um," he coughs, "mating traditions." I raise a brow and look as he refuses to look at me. It almost makes me laugh at how awkward he can be, acting like a shy pre-teen about to ask a girl out for the first time.

In order to spare him the embarrassment, I finally speak casually, "Okay."

He glances at me through his dark fanned-out lashes quickly and nods, "Okay, so, it starts off when you're nineteen. A male and a female have the chance to finally look for their chosen. Usually the males are the first to start the pairing by offering the shell given to them from birth." He holds his palm out and I gape as a bright light flashes on his palm before a golden shell with a chain appears in his palm. I gape at the small shell in his palm, entranced by the small intricate design spreading around its cone shaped body. "At birth, guppies are given a shell created by both birth givers that will be given to their own mate in the future. Women are sometimes the first to offer their shell, as well. The first step is to offer your shell to your chosen, and if they accept your shell and they offer theirs, then you go to step two." He crushes the shell in his hand and as his palm opens again, it's gone. "Step two would be getting matching markings from your heart to your left arm. It kinda looks like a bunch of shapes and swirls that covers half your upper body. This is done during the mating ceremony. The final step is well, the actual mating." He looks back at me and I nod to show understanding, causing him to continue, "For the night of, the male potentially chooses a place for him and his mate where he will care for his partner in a way to demonstrate that he can provide for him and any future offspring. It's kind of like a time for the guy to show off, I guess."

"Wow," I chuckle as I look at him, "so what? Then you live happily ever after?"

He finally chuckles and seems to of relaxed a bit, "Yeah, I guess. That's the dream at least."

"Well, in the land world, fifty percent of all marriages end in a divorce or a separation if you will." I chuckle at the look of shock in his face.

"People separate from their mates? Is that even possible?"

I nod and smirk at knowing something that shocked him so good, "Yep. You'd be surprised at the crazy shit that goes on up there."

He and I look at each other and then both begin to laugh. He looks at me once we have calmed down and looks at me with a big smile on his princely face, "You are very different, Marina." I stiffen and raise a brow at him.

"Different?"

He nods and looks out to the cavern, "I like different, it's refreshing compared to my constant."

I relax a bit and feel a small smile grow on my face without my consent, "Thank you."

Then, we just sat there, talking about his childhood and then me explaining the difference between rap and poetry.